There was no Room for Them

We've all heard the Christmas story hundreds of times.  We've read it, listened to it, heard Linus recite it from memory to bring Charlie Brown out of his seasonal existentialism, and seen too many dramatizations of it to count.

Because of this, I've always had a pretty solid picture of what the Christmas story was like in my head.  In my mind, it starts with Mary being ready to give birth right about the time that they arrive in Bethlehem.  All the local Bethlehem Inns are filled up, so they're forced to improvise and give birth in a nearby stable.

This is probably how most of us see the start of what we know as the Christmas story.  I've come to find, however, that this story is only one possibility of what could've actually happened.

My Religion professor pointed a few things out to me this week that helped me gain a greater appreciation for the mortal parents of our Savior.  It's also taught me something important about our membership in His church.

As far as the world around her was concerned, Mary was pregnant out of wedlock.  In today's culture, someone can be judged pretty harshly for circumstances like those; but in that culture, the public shaming would be unbearable.  I had known that it was probably hard for her; that she was likely despised and rejected of men.  It had never occurred to me, though, how her own family might have acted.  It's very possible that they didn't believe that, though pregnant, she was still a virgin.  They'd probably have a hard time believing her story about an angel coming down and telling her that it was going to happen that way.  Most parents today, if told something like that by their daughters, would probably think it a poor excuse, too.  It's very possible that Elizabeth, with her own Spiritual revelation, was the only one in her family who actually believed her.

There's no way to know for sure.  But, one thing we do know, is that Mary and Joseph's families would have been in Bethlehem at the same time Mary and Joseph were.  In fact, because both Mary and Joseph hail from that city, it's extremely likely that both their families still lived there.

So... where were they when Mary gave birth to the Son of God?

There's some details in this scripture that might give us the answer.

6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

The "while they were there" could mean any number of things, but it implies they had already been there a while.  The city was crowded, so it's a reasonable possibility that they were living in a tent or a cavern the entire time.  It's also a possible that they were staying with the family they had that was still living in the city.

The last line is important too.  There was no room for them in the inn.  The Greek word translated to "inn" in our bible is actually used several times in the New Testament.  In each of the other occurrences, the word is translated as "guest-chamber", and it's meaning is just that.  The real meaning of "inn" in this verse is a spare room that is meant for guests.  So, what this sentence is saying is that there was no room for them in the guest rooms.

It could've meant that there was no space for them in any of the guest-chambers in the city.  It also could've meant that there was "no room" for them specifically in the guest chambers of their families' homes while she gave birth to a Child they saw as "illegitimate."  The absence of their families that day may have been very intentional.

And this is the lesson that my teacher pointed out that day:  Sometimes being highly favored of God means that you're despised and rejected of men.  In fact, being high favored of God usually means that.

Mary would have known what it was like to be an outcast, even among your own family.  She would have understood, to some degree, the loneliness that her Son would have to go through.  Perhaps it's only right that the Mother of Jesus Christ would be a woman of sorrows and acquainted with grief.  His humble followers also learned what it meant to be rejected for the Truth during His life and after His resurrection.

There's a lot we can learn from both Mary's and Jesus' mortal experiences.  I've always been told that I'd be ridiculed during my lifetime for my beliefs.  I certainly have been, but not in the way I originally expected.  In both Mary's and Jesus' experiences, they weren't hated or persecuted by outsiders or people outside the faith.  Instead, they were persecuted by those who were supposed to be the most "righteous."  The Pharisees are the extreme example: their "religious" obsessive compulsion ended with them killing the Son of God out of jealousy and hatred.  Jesus was not hated of the Jews because he they saw him as Good, He was hated of the Jews because they saw Him as rebellious, and they were afraid of Him.

Like I said, I'd been told that I'd be ridiculed for my beliefs.  I don't think I understood, though, that that ridicule would come from within the church, and not outside of it.

In many ways, being "despised and rejected" of members of your own faith is far worse than being rejected of people outside of it.  Though I'd never go as far as to say that I've been "despised and rejected", I personally know a few people that have been.  All of them are amazing people, and all of them are hated by people who think that they're more "righteous".

I don't mean to sound spiteful, but I believe this is one of the most important lessons I've learned, so I believe that it's worth sharing.  But I think that it's even more important to look to what Mary and Jesus did when they were hated by those that should have honored them.  Mary kept unwavering faith, and stayed exactly where she needed to be.  Jesus did the will of His Father, no matter what pain and loneliness it caused Him.  Feeling alone in the church may be one of the hardest trials of faith to overcome.  Jesus Christ knows all too well how that feels, though.  He can help us through it, and we can look to His example in order to overcome it.  Those that are favored of God will be despised of men, and that hatred may come from the most unexpected places.  But I know that God sends legions of angels to bear up those who bear the brunt of the pride of the world.

With Him, we never have to feel alone.  So remember that, and know that you are loved :)